The Administration tab

The Administration pages

Installatron

run Installatron Update/Repair

Press this button to run the Installatron update/upgrade/repair tool at any time. This is the same process performed by the nightly CRON update.

This process can correct a large number of problems, from accidentally deleted files to a changed server environment, it will grab the latest build of the core for the branch you are on, and updates all the application installers and Installatron locales.

Tip: If Installatron isn't working, a press of this button is always the first thing to try.

Version

Contains information and tools relating to the Installatron core.

Installatron Version

Displays the version and build of Installatron on your system.

Version Available

Displays the the latest available version of Installatron.

Tip: If a newer version is available you can wait for the next CRON process to automatically update Installatron or click the "run Installatron Update/Repair" button.

License

Contains information and tools relating to your Installatron license.

Installatron Licensee

Displays your name (or your business name if your client account includes a business name).

Licensing Method

Shows the IP address or Server Footprint used to license this server.

Both licensing methods are valid, however the IP address will not work if your server is behind a router. Installatron's update/repair script will give you a footprint value if IP licensing is not available for your server.

Licensing Expiration Date

Displays the date the license will expire (applicable for Monthly and Annual licenses only).

refresh license

Will forcibly update your license information (this is run automatically each time you enter administration).

renew license

Will open a new browser window to your account page on the Installatron.com website, where you can renew and edit your licenses or update your personal information.

Logs

Contains links to the recent content from several logs generated by Installatron.

Installatron's logs are used to help identify the cause of problems when they occur on a server.

Tip: The full log files, and logs not listed here, can be accessed from /var/installatron/logs/ on a Linux/FreeBSD server, and %itron_dir%\Data\logs\ on Windows.

Error Log

Contains links to "error_log" which logs all general PHP warnings/notices/errors, and "install_error_log" which logs fatal errors encountered while working with an installed application.

Remote HTTP Request Log

Contains a link to "fetch_log" which logs all HTTP calls made by Installatron to external locations.

This includes all contact with the Installatron data and licensing servers, all interaction with the control panel's plugin API, and all calls to external install or upgrade applications. Installatron uses the HTTP Driver selected in Dependencies to perform these tasks.

File System Action Log

Contains a link to "filesystem_log" which logs all file system actions performed by Installatron.

Repair Logs

Contains links to "repair_crontab_log" which logs the output of the update/repair script (the same information is emailed to the admin if email notification is enabled), "repair_fetch_log" which logs HTTP calls performed during an update or repair (see Remote HTTP Request Log above), and "repair_filesystem_log" which logs the file system actions performed by an update or repair (see "File System Action Log" above).

reset all logs

Deletes all logs.

Tip: If you want to view the log entries for a single Installatron task; reset the logs, perform that task, and then view the newly generated logs. This can help identify the cause of problems.

Installed Applications

The list shows all web applications installed on your server, their versions, and where newer versions are available.

Select one or more installed applications and click this button to upgrade the application(s). This will take you through the upgrade process.

The Applications pages

Catalogs

The "Catalogs" page lists all catalogs, application installers, versions, and version branches that are available on your server.

Click an item to view its contents.

A catalog is a source of one or more Installatron application installers. The official Installatron catalog is always included, and you can add you own catalogs for custom application installers that have been created using the application installer sdk.

An installer is a set of files that install, upgrade, and provide information about one or more versions of a single web application (it's possible to have multiple installers for a single application, though not advisable).

A version is, intuitively, a single release of a web application.

A branch is a group of versions. Applications with a long history can change radically over time, and if a particular change from one version to the next is major in some way (no upgrading or difficult upgrading, or different server requirements, for example) the installer author might choose to group versions before and after the change into "branches".

This page allows you to globally enable/disable catalogs, application installers, versions, and branches. For finer control you should use the Access Control page documented below.

This page can also be used to add and remove your own catalogs.

name

The name of the catalog, software, branch, or version.

Click the name to open/close.

type

The type of web application.

category

The Installatron category of the web application.

installer type

An official application installer is one maintained by Installatron.

An author application installer is one maintained by the software's developers.

A 3rdparty application installer is one created using the Installer SDK. 3rdparty application installers should only be used from trusted authors.

status

An enabled installer has all its versions enabled.

A partial installer has only some versions enabled.

A disabled installer is one that has all versions disabled. No installing or upgrading can be performed with this installer.

An enabled version can be installed, upgraded to, and upgraded through.

A disabled version cannot be installed or upgraded to, but can be upgraded through.

incompatibilities:

Shown when a version is automatically disabled, giving the reason that the version disabled.

Automatic installer and version disabling utilizes the values and settings on the Dependencies page documented below.

Tip: You can override a disabled version by enabling it on this page though it is better to understand why is has been disabled.

Dependencies

Configures information about the server environment, and installer behavior in the case of incompatibilities with that server environment.

HTTP driver

Selects the driver that Installatron will use to perform all HTTP "calls". This driver is used to download archives and licenses, test domains, communicate with your control panel's plugin API, and execute install and upgrade scripts; it is central to almost every part of Installatron.

The list may include one or more CURL binaries, the PHP CURL extension, and WGET binaries.

Tip: The WGET option should only be used while you are resolving problems with the CURL options. They are not a long term solution.

If the HTTP driver is not working correctly you will see entries marked FAILURE in the "fetch_log" (see the "Logs" page for more about logs), though the same errors can occur when CURL is blocked from accessing the target URLs.

Archive driver for Tar.gz

Selects the driver that Installatron will use to extract .tar.gz (or .tgz) archives.

The list may include TAR binaries and PHP extensions such as zlib with archive_tar.

Archive driver for Zip

Selects the driver that Installatron will use to extract .zip archives.

The list may include UNZIP binaries and the PHP zip extension.

Perl binary path

Enter the path to the Perl binary on your server.

NetPBM binary path

If you have NetPBM installed, enter the path to the NetPBM image-manipulation library binary on your server.

ImageMagick binary path

If you have ImageMagick installed, enter the path to the ImageMagick image-manipulation library binary on your server.

MySQL Dump path

Enter the path to the MySQL "Dump" binary on the server.

PHP vhosts path

Enter the path to PHP vhosts on the server. The path will be used to extract PHP version numbers and determine compatibility with applications and their versions on your server.

Derived Versions

Displays the version numbers derived from the binaries listed above. These values will determine which applications and versions are considered "compatible" with your server.

PHP version

Displays the PHP version.

PHP PDO_MYSQL version

Displays the PDO_MYSQL version, if added to PHP.

MySQL version

Displays the MySQL version.

ASP.NET version

Displays the ASP.NET version.

run refresh now

Refreshes the versions.

Manual Attributes

Allows you to determine how Installatron will deal with server/installer incompatibilities that Installatron can resolve.

The "Automatically set this value as required, per-install" option on many of these server settings allows you to tell Installatron to use vhosts to forcibly enable or disable this setting, per installed application, as required by the application. This will only be used when the application installer has this setting as a "requirement".

The "Disable applications/versions incompatible with this setting" option will automatically disable any versions that have requirements that are incompatible with the server value.

And the dropdown selection allows you to tell Installatron whether this value is enabled or disabled on the server. Installatron derives the default values from the binaries listed above.

PHP server type

Select "mod_php" if PHP processes on your server are owned by Apache. On this type of server, when directories and files need to be writeable they will be set CHMOD 777 and 666 respectively.

Select "SuPHP" if PHP processes on your server are owned by user. On this type of server, when directories and files need to be writeable they will be set CHMOD 755 and 644 respectively. This should be used for all "su" systems, such as PHPSuExec and SuPHP.

PHP open_basedir

MySQL host

Enter the location of MySQL for users on your server. Installatron uses "localhost" if no value is entered.

Installatron cannot auto-detect this value.

Allow database sharing

Determines whether users can install more than one web application into a single database. Most applications support database sharing, but not all. If disabled, each application installed using Installatron will require a separate MySQL database.

Access Control

The "Access Control" tool allows you to limit application installer access on a per-user or per-hosting-package basis.

The "default" access group cannot be deleted, and automatically includes all users not included in other groups.

Tip: While this tool can also be used to disable application installers, Catalogs is best used to disable installers at a global level.

create a new access control list

Create an Access Control List (ACL). New lists are added to the bottom.

Tip: Installatron processes the lists in order of top to bottom, so if a user is selected in more than one list it will be the last (or lowest) list that includes that user.

Access Control: Edit

Access Control List Label

The name of the Access Control List. This field is only available in custom access list.

Installer Activation

Used to define the users controlled by this access list. This block is only available in custom access control lists.

Users can be selected at the hosting "package" level, or per-user.

Installer list type

Select the application installers that will be accessible to the users of this access group. You can select all or none, or create a custom list.

The custom list includes the ability to enable/disable individual branches of applications, where branches are used.

The Settings pages

General

Installatron Mode

Enable/disable Installatron.

Note that the admin user will still have full access to Installatron even when it is disabled; it is only resellers and users that will find it inaccessible.

Automatic Core Updates

Enable/disable the Installatron Update crontab process.

When enabled, a nightly crontab process will be added to the server's root user on a Linux/FreeBSD server, and Windows Task Scheduler on a Windows server. The process will be given random time within several hours of midnight on the server, with the aim of staggering update calls to the Installatron data and licensing servers.

Tip: The time can be changed by manually editing /etc/cron.d/installatron on Linux/FreeBSD or via Windows Task Scheduler on Windows.

The update process downloads the latest build of the core, updates application installers and Installatron locales, sends email notifications to users when new versions of their installed scripts become available (if email notification is enabled), and makes sure that Installatron is correctly set up for the current server environment (so if the server is upgraded Installatron will self-correct), and does a general check that everything is running correctly. It is recommended that automatic updating be enabled.

Installatron Update can be manually run at any time by clicking the button on the Installatron page, or by running the "repair" process detailed in Troubleshooting.

Customize installers code

Customizations are used to modify the way that Installatron installs and/or upgrades a web application. They can be used to add locales or plugins, patches and tweaks.

Caching

Installatron can download and pre-cache all latest-version archives (within the limits set by the "Maximum cache size" value), or download and cache archives only as they are required by install or upgrade tasks.

Tip: Pre-caching allows for faster installing for whomever is first to install a script but uses more harddrive space and might cache archives that will never be used.

Archive Caching

Determines whether archives should be downloaded and pre-cached, or be downloaded and cached as they are used.

Maximum cache size

Set the maximum size of the cache in megabytes (MB).

Tip: More cache space means more archives can be cached, which results in faster installs and upgrades. When the maximum space is filled Installatron uses a weighted algorithm to determine the best archives to retain.

Personal Archive Mirror (PAM) URL

Enter the URL to your Personal Archive Mirror to use that as your primary source of archives for this server.

A Personal Archive Mirror (PAM) is a HTTP-accessible directory containing the archives used by Installatron's application installers and upgraders. Use of a PAM allows you to optimize bandwidth usage on a large network and can speed up the install and upgrade processes for your users.

Email

Administrator Email Notifications

Allow resellers to override these Email settings

Determines whether users that have access to the reseller administration panel can override the "Email" settings.

Send Installatron Updater reports to the administrator (recommended)

Determines whether the admin user receives an email containing the results of each automatic Installatron Update.

Tip: It is recommended that you monitor these update reports. If new application installers are added you should test them on your server to see that they are compatible.

Email Address

If admin email notifications are enabled, they will be sent to this address.

User Upgrade Email Notifications

Notify users when new versions of their installed scripts become available

Determines whether users will receive an email notification when new versions of their installed scripts become available.

If enabled, Installatron will use the user's email address that is associated with their control panel login.

From Address

If user email notifications are enabled, this address will be used as the "From:" value.

Email Subject

If user email notifications are enabled, this will be the subject of the email. The default value is "[Installatron] new versions available".

Email Template

If user email notifications are enabled, this template will be used for the email.

The {list} tag will insert the list of upgradable scripts. The default value is:

This is an automated email from Installatron.
New versions of software you have installed using Installatron are now available for upgrade. The following software can be upgraded:
{list}
Log in to your web host's control panel and navigate to the Installatron tool to upgrade your installs.
Note that upgrading a working install has risks, however the new versions may contain bug and security fixes.
End of report.
--
Do not reply to this email.

Theme

Allow resellers to override these settings

Enable this option to allow resellers to override these "Theme" values for their users.

Embedding

Determines whether Installatron appears inside your control panel's theme or own its own page by default.

The user can click the embedding icon at the top/right of each Installatron page to override this setting.

Embedding is only available where supported by the control panel theme.

CSS Customizations

Enter CSS style code in this field to personalize the look and feel of Installatron on your server.

Locale

Allow resellers to override these settings

Enable this option to allow resellers to override these "Locale" values for their users.

Locale

The locale used by Installatron.

If the "Use the user's default locale" option is selected, Installatron will attempt to match the user's control panel locale and fall back to English if unsuccessful. The other options allow you to hard-set a particular language for all users on your server.

Note that all non-English translations are provided by users of Installatron using the online Translator Tool. Please feel free to add translations or correct errors.

Locale Customizations

This should be used when you want an item of text (called a "locale key") to be different to the standard text, rather than be a direct translation.

This input box should have one locale key per line. For example:

My Applications=My Dashboard
Administration=Head Honcho Tools

The quote character (") should be entered as &quot;.

Tip: Because locale keys can include HTML you can use locale customization to perform advanced customizations of the Installatron GUI. See the FAQ for more information.

Branding

The "Branding" settings allow you to re-brand Installatron -- that is, to give it a different name and remove all mentions of "Installatron" in the user-level pages.

Branding can be used to fully integrate the Installatron auto-installer into a custom or customized control panel, or to ensure that all Installatron support requests go through you rather than send your users to the Installatron.com website.

Important: If any of these values are changed from their default value your Installatron plugin is considered "branded", and Installatron changes its behavior accordingly. Importantly, all links to the Installatron.com website will be automatically removed and end-users will no longer receive support via the Installatron.com support system when problems occur. It is recommended that you use the "Installatron Support" setting to provide an alternate place for support.

Allow resellers to override these settings

Enable this option to allow resellers to override these "Branding" values for their users.

Installatron Name

The name of "Installatron" that will be used on all user pages. The default value is "Installatron".

Installatron Logo

The logo displayed at the top/left of each Installatron page. The default value is "images/installatron.png".

Installatron Support

A URL used for all user-level Installatron support links. The default value is "https://secure.installatron.com/tickets".

Message of the Day

Allow resellers to override these MoTD settings

Determines whether resellers can override these "Message of the Day" settings.

Add the Message Of The Day to the Applications Browser tab

Will add the Message of the Day to the "Applications Browser" tab.

MOTD Title

The title used by the Message of the Day block.

MOTD Message

The content of the the "Message of the Day" block.

The Tools pages

List Builder

The Application List Builder tool generates a list of the web applications that are available for installing with Installatron on your server. The resulting files (one output file per active Access Group) can be included into your website to show visitors the applications they can easily install on your hosting service.

Enable the generation of script-list files

When enabled, Installatron will automatically re-build the List files each time Installatron Update is run. This ensues that the lists are updated when new application installers are added to Installatron.

Build Location

The full server path to the location where the files will be built. This must be a directory inside the administrator user's directory structure, and must be writeable by the admin user.

One file will be created in this directory for each Access Control List that you have enabled, and the files will be named after the access lists. There will always be a file named "default", for the default access list.

Template

The "build" template for a single application. Values pertaining to the web application are added with {curly-bracket} key tags. These tags are available:

{script} the name of the script
{url} url to the applications's website
{version} current version
{type} the "type" category
{group} the "group" category
{modified} the date of most recent modification
{description} formal description of the script
{authordescription} the author's description of the script, usually taken from the website

run Application List Builder now

Will build/refresh the list files.

Converter

The Installatron Auto-Installer Converter is able to import applications installed by other auto-installers so that they can be used as if they were installed by Installatron. Full upgrade, backup, restore, etc. capabilities are enabled.

The converter requires that the original auto-installer's data files still exist on the server. Converter imports the installed applications by converting the data files to Installatron format.

installed version / convert version

The installed version, as reported by the original auto-installer's data files, and the version that Installatron will import the application as.

If there is an exact match between the installed version and a version that Installatron knows about then it will be pre-selected. If there is no match you can select a version that looks "close enough" but please be aware that performing an upgrade from an incorrect version could break an application (though, in some cases it won't matter which version you select).

Installatron installer?

Displays the auto-detected Installatron application "installer" that will assume control of the install.

An install can still be imported into Installatron even when Installatron does not have support for the application. Converter will create a "dummy" entry that will appear on the client's My Applications tab. Installatron Backup and Restore capabilities will be enabled for the dummy entry, however it will not be upgradable using Installatron.

already in Installatron?

Shows whether the install has already been imported into Installatron. An install cannot be imported twice.

Tip: If you want to remove an install from Installatron without deleting the files or database, you can delete the Installatron data file in ~/.installatron/current/ (where ~ is the user's home directory). Bonus Tip: Be careful.